Prima Parte de' Fiori, e Disegni di varie sorti di Ricami Moderni, page 8 (recto) 1591

This is page eight from Giovanni Battista Ciotti’s "Prima Parte de' Fiori, e Disegni di varie sorti di Ricami Moderni," an early 17th-century embroidery pattern book. The geometric patterns—circles divided into segments, stylized floral motifs, and symmetrical arrangements—speak to more than mere decoration. They reveal a deep connection to ancient symbolic languages. Consider the circle: In many cultures, it represents wholeness, the infinite, and the cyclical nature of time. Divided as it is here, it echoes cosmological diagrams used in various religious and philosophical traditions. We find similar concentric circles in Byzantine mosaics, medieval mandalas, and even earlier, in Bronze Age sun symbols. The visual repetition aims to harness a powerful, almost hypnotic effect. Such imagery is not just seen; it is felt. It stirs something primal within us. These aren't simply patterns; they are echoes of archetypal forms that continue to resonate in the collective unconscious, resurfacing and adapting across generations.